[cj2point0]

I have an 85 spider that i am replacing the low preasure fuel pump inside the tank. when i pulled it out, it came out covered in sludge and old gasoline. i cleaned off the sludge and replaced the pump and the wires, but all of the connections aren't insulated or covered and i wanted to check to see if anyone knows if this is the norm and that it is ok. when i pulled it out, all the connections were bare, so i figure its ok to put back in that way, unless thats what was causing the problems.

any thoughts?

also, i attached the picture of the way i currently have eerything attached. does that look right?

 

[Tifosi]

I'd get EFI hose clamps instead of wormscrew just on principle, but otherwise, yeah, the connection points are bare.

 

[86spider]

the LEL (lower explosive limit) of 100 octane gasoline is 1.4% by volume in air.

the UEL (upper explosive limit) of 100 octane gasoline is 7.6% by volume in air.

So below the LEL there is not enough fuel and above the UEL there is not enough air for ignition, combustion, boom.

in between, especially mid point, as that is where the least amount of ignition energy is required for many chemicals.

The head space of the fuel tank is virtually 100% gasoline vapor.

 

[cj2point0]

Awesome! Thanks for the help! Now, does anyone have any idea where the fuel filter mounts and connects electrically in an 85 spider?

 

[Tifosi]

Fuel filter goes after the main fuel pump under the right side of the car just in front of the right rear suspension arm.

Being a filter, it doesn't have any electrical connections.

 

[ghnl]

pictures, guys, pictures...

 

[Tifosi]

A picture is worth a thousand words, but without a thousand words, the picture might never have been created for ideas are intangible and must be expressed in words before they can ever be delt with more simply in pictures.


Yeah, that's it. I'm gonna run with that

 

[86spider]

Eric,
got a picture of the mesh baggie attached to the pump inlet? I don't see one in the OP's picture.

 

[Tifosi]

Normally has a bit of hard plastic tubing in it to prevent the sock from collapsing and/or sucking up into the pump inlet.
Press fits onto pump.

 

[ghnl]

How about a sketch from the parts fiche?

 

[John Gallagher]

I don't see the rust.

 

[cj2point0]

does the same filter go in the trunk as on the bottom? There should be a filter after each pump right?

 

[ghnl]

There is a screen at the inlet (bottom) of the in-tank pump to keep rocks and other large chunks of debris from getting sucked into the pump. Then there is a can shaped filter near the main pump under the car. The filter under the car is the most important one and should be changed as part of routine maintenance.

SPICA equipped cars may have a filter at the SPICA pump - either in addition to or instead of the filter under the car.

 

[cj2point0]

so there isn't a filter in the trunk?

 

[Duke58]

"A picture is worth a thousand words, but without a thousand words, the picture might never have been created for ideas are intangible and must be expressed in words before they can ever be delt with more simply in pictures."

Can we be drinking buddies?

 

[cj2point0]

Weve tried starting it with nothing but the electrical connections and a hose attached to see if it was even pumping anything, and nothing came out. my thought is something came undone or broke when i put the pump back into place, or something is wrong electrically, whether it be the wires, connection or the fuse. Any help?

 

[sloboy89]

so there isn't a filter in the trunk?

There's no filter in the trunk. The "sock filter" in Tifosi's post #9 is attached to the pump in the fuel tank per the diagram in Eric's post #10.

 

[sloboy89]

Weve tried starting it with nothing but the electrical connections and a hose attached to see if it was even pumping anything, and nothing came out. my thought is something came undone or broke when i put the pump back into place, or something is wrong electrically, whether it be the wires, connection or the fuse. Any help?

I'd recommend stepping back and working through the issues systematically. Specifically, before you can get to the solution, you need to figure out whether it is an electrical problem, and if so, where the problem is. Remember that there are two fuel pumps. The main one under the car does most of the work. The pump in the tank just helps out when the fuel level is low. So if you have at least a quarter tank of gas, the problem is probably not the in-tank pump.

If you are sure that the problem is the in-tank pump, I would first determine whether the issue is electrical or mechanical. Disconnect the wires from the top of the fuel sender in the trunk. Put one lead of a voltmeter on the wire from the fuel pump relay (should be the wire that goes to the center terminal on the sender), and put the other lead of the voltmeter to ground. Measure the voltage with the key turned to "on". If you have battery voltage, then the problem is somewhere within the sender/in-tank pump assembly. It might be a broken wire (easily checked) or it might be a bad pump that needs replacing.

If you don't get battery voltage when you do this check, then you know it is an electrical problem, and you need to start working backward to find the problem. If this is your problem, then it might be a bad in-line fuel-pump fuse, a bad relay, faulty ground, a tripped fuel-pump kill switch, or something else.

If the problem is that the car won't start, unless you are very low on gas in the tank, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the problem is not the in-tank pump. I would check the voltage at the main pump using the same procedure -- disconnect the wires and measure the voltage between the wire from the fuel relay and ground with the key in the "on" position.

Good luck.

 

[cj2point0]

got the internal pump pumping, and i can feel motion in the hose, but im not feeling anything in the metal line and under the car by the external pump. the external pump is getting power, so that isn't the problem. perhaps there is build up in the metal line? that is my thought. what about you guys?

 

[sloboy89]

Plugged-up fuel line doesn't sound very likely. More likely would be a main pump that stopped working because of stuff from the tank getting sucked up and then stuck in the pump. Or the fuel filter is completely clogged.

Can you feel the main pump spinning?